Distributed-user shipping system

ABSTRACT

A system and method is described for controlling user access to a carrier&#39;s shipping services for delivery of a package. The system controls the user&#39;s access to the carrier&#39;s services by either limiting the selection of locations from which a package can be shipped to fewer than those described by the carrier&#39;s service area, or by limiting the user&#39;s ability to select shipping service levels to fewer than those provided by the carrier. Such limitation may be by way of displaying only a limited collection of ship from locations and service levels, or by pre-populating and locking ship from information submission fields on a web page. The distributed-user shipping system may reside on a client server or mobile computer that is connected to the carrier&#39;s server and transmits various shipping location information and service level selections to the carrier to facilitate shipping of packages while controlling the scope of shipping services provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/323,885filed Dec. 18, 2002 which is a continuation and claims benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/344,111 filed Dec. 27, 2001, both ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a shipping system for a group of distributedusers to allow an administrator or group of administrators to maintainand control shipping by its users.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An unsatisfied need has long existed in the package shipping industryfor a shipping system that allows an organization to monitor and controlthe shipping activities of its users.

In the past, individuals within an organization that wanted to ship apackage had to manually complete a shipping label and present thepackage to a carrier or other shipping drop-off location. Theorganization tracked these shipments by keeping copies of the shippinglabels on file. This manual process was both cumbersome andtime-consuming.

With the advent of the Internet, new shipping systems were introducedthat allowed an individual to input shipping information to the shippingsystem and have a shipping label delivered to their browser. Theshipping label could then be printed and affixed to the package. Theseelectronic shipping systems were an improvement on the manual process,but they still did not allow an organization to monitor and control theshipping activity of its users. In addition, a user of one of thesesystems could not associate a particular package shipment with aparticular client; therefore, the organization had to again manuallyreview the shipping activities to bill the shipping charge to aparticular client or department.

Another shipping system that was developed to address some of theseconcerns is the ship-ticket shipping system. In these systems, a usergenerates a ship-ticket on a personal computer and prints the ticket ona local printer. The ship-ticket is not a shipping label but has theshipping information encoded on the ticket as a bar code. Theship-ticket is affixed to the package and the package is delivered toshipping center or mail room of the organization where the bar code isscanned and the shipping information is electronically captured into acentral shipping system. A shipping label is then generated by thecentral shipping system and affixed to the package. As with Internetshipping systems, a ship-ticket system automates the shipping processand eliminates the manual process of completing shipping labels.Moreover, because the ship-ticket passes through a central shippingsystem of the organization, the organization can monitor and control theshipping activities of its users. However, the process is cumbersome inthat it requires an additional step of scanning a first label togenerate a second label.

An unsatisfied need thus exists in the industry for an improved shippingsystem for organizations.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above needs and achieves otheradvantages by providing a system and method for controlling a user'saccess to a carrier's shipping services for delivery of a package. Thesystem controls the user's access to the carrier's services by eitherlimiting the locations from which a package can be shipped to fewer thanthose described by the carrier's service area, or by limiting the user'sability to select shipping service levels to fewer than those providedby the carrier. For instance, the system can limit the ship fromlocation to one or more business locations of an organization. Suchlimitation may be by way of displaying a limited collection of the shipfrom locations, or by pre-populating and locking ship from informationsubmission fields on a web page. In an example of limiting the servicelevels, the service levels available to the user may be limited to onlyground shipping when the carrier is capable of providing both air andground shipping. Preferably, the distributed-user shipping systemresides on a client server or mobile computer that is connected to thecarrier's server and transmits various shipping location information andservice level selections to the carrier to facilitate shipping ofpackages by geographically distributed users while controlling the scopeof shipping services provided.

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a system forcontrolling a user's access over a network to a carrier server forcoordinating shipping services provided by the carrier. In thisembodiment, the carrier has a service area including a plurality ofaccess locations at which it is willing to access the package toinitiate shipping. The control system includes a ship to informationsystem that is configured to record ship to information describing adestination location to which the package is to be delivered by thecarrier. A ship from information system of the control system isconfigured to limit the user's selection of access locations. Inparticular, the number of access locations useable by the user arelimited to a collection of access locations that are fewer than all ofthe access locations in the carrier's service area. For instance, in thecase of a user who is an employee of an organization, the accesslocations may be limited to one or more work locations of the user. Theship from information system is also configured to record ship frominformation describing one of the limited access locations selected bythe user. The control system further includes an order placement systemthat is configured to connect via the network to the carrier server andto transmit the ship from and ship to information to the carrier overthe network to initiate shipping by the carrier of the package.

The ship from information system may be further configured to display aplurality of ship from information fields for recording the accessselection. In this case, selection of one of the limited selection ofaccess locations is alternatively, or further, ensured by pre-populatingthe information fields with portions of the access location and lockingthe fields so that the pre-populated access location portions cannot bemodified by the user. In addition, the ship from information system maybe configured to validate that the recorded ship from informationdescribes one of the limited collection of access locations. In yetanother alternative, selection of one of the limited collection ofaccess locations is ensured by displaying only the limited collection ofaccess locations in a menu for selection by the user.

Various components of the control system may be centrally located, ordistributed over networked computer servers. In one aspect, the shipfrom, ship to and order placement systems reside on a client serverwhich is connected via the network to the carrier server. In analternative aspect, portions of the ship from, ship to and orderplacement systems reside on a mobile computers, such as a laptopcomputer. If part of the system is operated on the mobile computer, theship from information system can be further configured to detect use bya traveling user operating the mobile computer and to make an exceptionthat allows selection of any access location for the ship frominformation.

In yet another aspect, the control system includes a label generatingsystem that is configured to generate a shipping label image. Theshipping label image includes the ship to and ship from information andis useable by the user to print a shipping label for attachment to thepackage. In the case of a traveling user using a mobile computer tooperate the system, the shipping label image may further include returnaddress information that is different than the ship from information.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the control systemincludes a ship to information system configured to record ship toinformation submitted by the user that describes a destination locationto which the package is to be delivered by the carrier. A ship frominformation system is configured to record ship from informationsubmitted by the user that describes an access location from which thepackage is to be delivered by the carrier. The control system alsoincludes a service level system configured to limit the user's selectionof service levels to a collection of service levels that are fewer thanall of the shipping service levels provided by the carrier and to recordthe service level selection by the user. An order placement system isconfigured to connect via a network to a carrier server and to transmitthe ship from information, ship to information and service levelselection to the carrier over a network to facilitate package delivery.

The service level system may be further configured to display thelimited collection of service levels, such as in a menu, for selectionby the user. For additional or alternative confirmation, the servicelevel system may be further configured to validate that the recordedservice level selection is one of the limited collection of servicelevels.

Similar to the above-described embodiment, the control system may bedistributed over several networked computers, or may be on a singleserver. For instance, the ship from, ship to, service level and orderplacement systems may reside on a client server is which connected viathe network to the carrier server. As another example, the portions ofthe system reside on a mobile computer.

In another aspect, the service level system is further configured tolimit the shipping service level selection to an extent determined bythe user's membership to a group of users all having the same limitedcollection of available shipping service levels. For instance, thecarrier may offer ground and air shipping, but the users in the groupwould be limited by the distributed-user shipping system to just groundshipping.

Elements of each of the control system embodiments and aspects may becombined with each other, such as by limiting both the service level andship from access location selected by the user. Beyond suchcombinations, the control system may include other aspects such asshipment billing and control of the destination location of eachshipment. A billing system may record billing information from thecustomer, such as a client and matter account number, and transmit thebilling information to the carrier using the order system so as tofacilitate billing for delivery services by the carrier. The ship toinformation system can include aspects such as locked pre-populationfields and validation engines to limit the destination locations tofewer than all of the destinations to which the carrier will deliver apackage.

In another embodiment, the present invention includes a method ofadministering access by a user to a carrier's shipping services fordelivery of a package. In this embodiment, the user is a member of anorganization having a plurality of locations. The administration methodincludes sending organization information to the carrier over thenetwork wherein the organization information includes an address of oneof the locations and a shipping account number. The account number isvalidated by comparing the account number to a list of valid accountnumbers and by determining if the address corresponds to the addresslisted for the account number. Once validated, the location is added toa limited collection of ship from locations accessible by the carrierfrom which the user is permitted to ship the package. The limitedcollection of ship from locations describes fewer locations than aplurality of locations accessible by the carrier within its servicearea.

In another aspect, after validation the location may be associated witha department of the organization wherein the user is a member of thedepartment and will be able to ship from the newly associated location.The administration method can also include displaying and sorting listsof previous shipping activity by one or more users. The lists mayinclude, and be sorted using, ship to information, ship frominformation, transmission date, shipping date, shipping method (i.e.,service level), user group or organization.

In still another embodiment, the present invention includes anothermethod of administering access to a carrier's shipping services fordelivery of a package. The administration method includes establishing aplurality of user groups each including at least one user. A limitedcollection of the carrier's shipping services is created including fewershipping services than all the shipping services offered by the carrier.Then, the limited collection of shipping services is associated with theuser group. The administration method further includes facilitating theuser's access to the limited collection of shipping services bycommunicating shipping requests each containing one of the limitedcollection of shipping services selected by the user to the carrier.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention includes, a graphicaluser interface (such as the graphics displayed on a computer monitor)for controlling a user's access to a carrier's shipping services fordelivery of a package. In this embodiment, the carrier has a servicearea describing a plurality of access locations at which the carrier iswilling to access the package to initiate shipping. The graphical userinterface includes a ship to information panel having a plurality offields for recording portions of a destination location to which thepackage is to be delivered by the carrier. Also, a ship from informationpanel is included that has a plurality of fields pre-populated withportions of one of the plurality of access locations. The fields arelocked against modification by the user to limit the user to shippingfrom the locked access location.

Each of the various embodiments of the present invention have severaladvantages. Generally, the distributed user shipping system allows tightcontrol of shipping activities to be administered, especially over theship from location and the level of service selected by the users.Limiting the ship from locations reduces the incidence of misuse of anorganization's shipping accounts. Further, use of more expensive carrierservice levels, such as overnight air shipping, can be reduced oreliminated. Shipping costs that are incurred can be billed directly toclients or departments based on account numbers, such as a cost centercode, or department names. The shipping label system allows for theconvenient generation of shipping labels bearing the ship to and shipfrom information, for immediate attachment to a package. Administrativeaspects of the system allow for easy creation and modification ofvarious user groups and organization locations each having differentservice levels and ship from locations available for shipping requests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates the architecture of a distributed user shippingsystem.

FIG. 2 shows the process flow that allows a user to ship a package usingthe distributed user shipping system.

FIGS. 3A-3G illustrate a graphic user interface of a distributed usershipping system that allows a user to ship a package.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate a graphic user interface of a distributed usershipping system that establishes administration detail, user groups andusers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

A. Architecture

FIG. 1 illustrates a distributed user shipping system 10 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, thedistributed user shipping system 10 includes a plurality of users 15 incommunication with a client server 20 and/or a computer network 25 suchas the Internet. One or more traveling users 30 may also be in contactwith the network 25 and/or the client server 20. The distributed usershipping system 10 also includes a carrier server 35 in communicationwith the network 25 and with the client server 20 via the network 25.

In one embodiment, a distributed user shipping application 40 resides onthe client server 20 and is in communication with the network 25.Similarly, a carrier shipping application 45 resides on the carrierserver 35 and communicates with the distributed user shippingapplication 40 via the network 25. Further, in this example a shippinglabel engine 50 and account database 55 also reside on the carrierserver 35 and are in communication with the carrier shipping application45. Although each of these system components are described herein asresiding on either the client server 20 or carrier server 35, it will bereadily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that one or all ofthe above-described components may reside on another server or functionseparately.

B. Package Shipment

FIG. 2 illustrates one process by which a user 15 may obtain a shippinglabel 100 for a package or letter using the distributed user shippingsystem 10 of the present invention. In a first step 200, a user 15enters the necessary shipping information into the distributed usershipping application 40. FIG. 3A illustrates a graphical user interface(GUI) login screen shot 201 that a user 15 might use to access thedistributed user shipping application 40. Upon entering a valid username and password, the user 15 is presented with a list of options. Ifthe user 15 elects to ship a package, the user sees a GUI informationentry screen 202 similar to that shown in FIG. 3B. In an alternativeembodiment, the user 15 does not receive a list of options and insteadis presented with a GUI shipping confirmation screen 203 shown in FIG.3C.

The GUI of FIG. 3B is separated into three parts: a ship to informationsection 110, a ship from information section 115, and a packageinformation section 120. Each of the sections has a plurality of entryfields for entry of portions of the section's respective information. Ingeneral, the user 15 is prompted to input the destination shippinginformation for the package in the ship to information section 110. Thefields in the ship from information section 115 are pre-populated withthe user address information that has previously been associated withthe user name and password. Alternatively, these fields may be populatedwith a location address for the organization to which the user isassociated. If the user is designated as a traveling user 40 (describedbelow), a drop-down menu may be available that allows the traveling user40 to select one of several addresses for the ship from informationsection 115. In one embodiment, the user is not given the opportunity tochange the information in the ship from information section 115. In analternative embodiment, these fields are user-modifiable. Theinformation in the ship to and ship from sections is sufficient to shipa letter in the distributed user shipping system 10. If the user 15 isshipping a package, the user 15 is prompted to populate those fieldsshown in the package information section 120.

In one embodiment, a user 15 has the option of entering a nickname forthe recipient of the letter or package in a ship to nickname field 125.When this field is populated, the distributed user shipping application40 will compare the nickname against a database of recipients and willpopulate the ship to information section 110 of the GUI 202 with therecipient information stored in the database. By checking the saveaddress field 130 shown in FIG. 3B, a user 15 can add or modify an entryin the recipient database.

In one embodiment, the user 15 also has the option of associating theshipment with a particular client or department. In this embodiment, theuser 15 is prompted to enter a cost center code 135 and a departmentname 140, one or both of which may be used to associate the shipment.For example, a user 15 can bill the cost of the shipment to the clientidentified in these fields. As another example, the user 15 may beresponsible for multiple matters for a single client and may use thesefields to associate the shipment with a particular matter for theclient. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize thatthese and other fields can be used to allow a user 15 and anorganization to accurately monitor, control and track package shipments.To illustrate, if the organization is a law firm, the cost center code135 and department name 140 fields may be renamed as client and matternumber fields respectively. In this way, the law firm can track thepackage shipments for each client and matter combination and charge theshipping costs appropriately. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that these and other fields can be added to allow anorganization to track shipments made by its users. In alternativeembodiments, one or both of these fields may be designated as “required”before a package can be sent and the information used to populate thesefields may be validated.

Returning to FIG. 2, after entering the required shipping informationthe distributed user shipping application 40 sends the shippinginformation to the carrier shipping application 45 in step two 204. Inone embodiment, the shipping information is transmitted over theInternet but it will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in theart that that the information can be sent via any type of electroniccommunication, including wireless technology. In step three 205, thecarrier shipping application 45 performs a series of validation routineson the shipping request. In one embodiment, the carrier shippingapplication validates the destination shipping address to confirm thatthe destination address exists and has been properly entered. Inaddition, the carrier shipping application 45 may validate that the user15 is permitted to perform the shipping activity requested. For example,a user 15 may submit a request for a package delivery service level,such as overnight shipping, but may only be authorized to request alesser service level. In an alternative embodiment, some or all of thesevalidation routines may occur at the client server 20 and may beperformed by the distributed user shipping application 40 or anotherapplication. For example, a user 15 that is authorized to ship packagesusing only select service levels may not see those package shippingservice levels that the user 15 is not authorized to use.

If one or more of the validation procedures fail, an error code isreturned to the user. Once the shipping information passes thevalidation routines, the process proceeds to step four 206 where theuser 15 is shown the GUI shipping confirmation screen 203 as shown inFIG. 3C and is prompted to confirm that the shipping information iscorrect. If the information is incorrect, the user 15 has the option tomodify the shipping information via an Edit Package Info button 207.Once the shipping information is correct, the user 15 proceeds byclicking on a Ship This Package button 208.

Returning again to FIG. 2, a shipping label 100 is generated 209 whenthe user 15 clicks on the Ship This Package button 208. To generate theshipping label 100, the distributed user shipping application 40 passesthe shipping information to the carrier shipping application 45. Thecarrier shipping application 45 passes the shipping information to ashipping label engine 50 configured to create shipping labels. Theprocess of generating shipping labels from shipping information is wellknown in the art and is beyond the scope of this disclosure. Once theshipping label 100 is generated, the shipping label engine 50 passes theshipping label 100 back to the carrier shipping application 45, which,in turn, transmits the label back to the distributed user shippingapplication 40 and the user 15 in step six 210.

FIG. 3D illustrates a GUI label screen 211 that a user 15 receives inresponse to a valid request for a shipping label 100. FIG. 3D is dividedinto two parts and includes a shipping label instruction area 150 and ashipping label 100. In this example, the shipping label instructionstell the user how to print and fold the label and where to drop if offfor pickup. The shipping label instruction area 150 also containsprompts that allow the user 15 to ship another package, view shippedpackages and logoff. If a View Shipped Packages button 212 is activated,the user 15 receives a GUI package listing screen 213 similar to thatshown in FIG. 3E.

FIG. 3E illustrates a GUI screen that allows a user 15 to obtain detailabout packages that have been shipped. In one embodiment, every shippinglabel 100 generated by the distributed user shipping system 10 includesa unique package tracking number 160. As a package travels through thecarrier system to its destination address, the package tracking number160 is scanned at various carrier sortation and routing facilities and acarrier database is updated with information on the progress of thepackage. The GUI package listing screen 213 shown in FIG. 3E shows theuser 15 a list of shipment recently sent. In one embodiment, the user 15sees a list of shipments made by that particular user. In thisembodiment, the user 15 has the ability to expand or shrink the list byrequesting a search on past shipments of one day, one week, one month orsix months. Of course, additional search parameters are available andmay be readily implemented with the present invention. In an alternateembodiment, a user 15 can search past shipments by organization, client,user name, date range, destination address, shipping method or usingmultiple other search parameters that will be readily apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art.

For each shipment listed in FIG. 3E, the user 15 has the option to viewthe shipment status by clicking the package tracking number 160 or canview package detail information by clicking on a detail button 214. FIG.3F illustrates a GUI package tracking information screen 215 availableto a user 15 and FIG. 3G illustrates a package detail information screen216 that can be obtained. In addition, Void Package 217 and ReprintShipping Label 218 options are also illustrated in FIG. 3G. In oneembodiment, the user 15 has an option of voiding a shipping label 100that was mistakenly generated and thereby avoids paying the shippingfee. In this embodiment, the carrier debits a shipping account in theamount of the shipping fee when the shipping label 100 is generated. Theshipping account is thus charged even if the shipping label 100 is neveraffixed to a package and placed in the carrier system. However, acarrier will credit a shipping account for the shipping fee associatedwith a shipping label 100 when a user 15 clicks on the Void Package link217. In one embodiment, a user has predetermined time after the creationof a shipping label 100 to void the transaction and/or reprint thelabel. In a preferred embodiment, the predetermined time is 24-hours.

C. Administration

The following paragraphs describe an administration system in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. One aspect of thedistributed user shipping system 10 is an application that permits theusers 15 of an organization or other group to automate their shippingactivities and associate shipments with a particular client, matter ordepartment. Another aspect of the system is an administrationapplication that permits a organization to monitor and control theshipping activities of those users 15.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an organization or otherdistributed group of users 15 initiates a distributed user shippingsystem 10 by registering with one or more carriers and identifying anorganization administrator. The organization administrator is thehighest-level user of a distributed user shipping system 10 and has thehighest level of authorization within the organization. In oneembodiment, an organization has only one organization administrator, butit will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that thepresent invention can be equally advantageous with multiplehighest-level users. The requirements to register an organizationadministrator may vary from carrier to carrier. In one embodiment, anorganization administrator registration requires an organization name,organization address, administrator name, administrator address,administrator phone number and an administrator email.

Other information and/or shipping transaction options may also berequired to register an organization administrator. The organizationadministrator registration process may also require that theorganization administrator determine what information the users 15 mustsupply to request a shipping label 100. A law firm, for example, mightrequire that its users 15 include a billing client and matter numberevery time that a shipping label 100 is generated. The designation ofmandatory fields labeled client and matter, therefore, may be part ofthe organization administration registration process.

Additional layers of user administration are also available with thepresent invention. In one embodiment, an organization has the ability todetermine the number of layers of administration. In an alternativeembodiment, the number of administrations layers is predetermined. Instill another embodiment of the present invention, there is just oneadministrator.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a second administrationlayer is a location administrator 175. Location administrators 175 mightbe used in the case of a company with multiple offices spread outthroughout a geographical area. In some cases the locations might belocated in separate states, or even across continents. In anotherexample, the separate locations may be different departments on acollege campus, or even different departments within a single officebuilding.

FIG. 4A illustrates a GUI location creation screen 219 to prompt a user15 to create a new location. In a preferred embodiment, there is atleast one location associated with every organization. In thisillustration, the addition of a new location requires the organizationname, administrator name, phone number, email address, facsimile andprinter type for the location. In addition, the street address, city,state and zip for the location is required. In one embodiment, a carrieraccount number 180 is also required for a location administrator 175.Carrier account numbers 180 are generally tied to a zip code or othergeographical area as shipping costs are based upon the distance betweenpickup and delivery points. For this reason, a carrier account number180 in this embodiment is specified for each organization locationrather than at the organization administrator level.

When a new location is added to the system, the distributed usershipping application 40 sends the organization location information tothe carrier shipping application 45. The carrier shipping application 45compares the carrier account number 180 for the new location and theaddress of the new location against an account database 55 of validcustomer account numbers. If the carrier account number 180 is valid forthe location zip code, the location information and/or locationadministrator 175 is added to the distributed user shipping system 10.If the carrier account number 180 is not a valid account number and/oris not valid for the specified location address, an error code isreturned and the new location/location administrator 175 is not added.

In one embodiment, only the organization administrator has authority tocreate a new location. In alternative embodiments, some or all of thelocation administrators 175 may be authorized to create new locations.

Another layer of administration in a distributed user shipping system 10of the present invention is a user group 185. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, a user group 185 determines the shipping servicelevel that will be permitted for those users 15 associated with thatuser group 185. In alternative embodiments, additional userauthorizations may be determined by the user group 185 including,without limitation, the ability to generate shipment reports, to accessother user shipment information, to create new users or administrators,or to use a organizational or global shipping address database.Additional rights related to package shipping may be determined at theuser group 185 level and will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in theart. FIG. 4B illustrates a GUI group creation screen 220 that might beused to define a user group 185. In this example, users 15 within thisparticular user group 185 will be able to ship letters and packagesbased on the service levels selected.

FIG. 4C illustrates a GUI new user screen 221 to create a new user 15.In the illustrated embodiment, a new user 15 must be associated with anorganization, location and user group 185. A name, login name, passwordand user-type 190 are also required fields in this embodiment. In thisillustration, the user-type field 190 is designated as regular. In apreferred embodiment, a regular user 15 is authorized only to shippackages. In contrast, if a user-type 190 of administrator wereassigned, the user 15 would be authorized to perform predeterminedadministrative functions as well as having authorization to shippackages. The GUI new user screen 221 thus provides for the creation ofdifferent administration levels including the organization administratorand one or more location administrators. One of ordinary skill in theart will readily recognize that additional administration levels can becreated and assigned in this way.

In one embodiment, a user may be designated as a traveling user 30.Traveling users 30 are those users authorized to ship a package from aremote location. In one embodiment, a traveling user 30 is authorized toship only from one of the locations associated with the organization. Inanother embodiment, a traveling user 30 is authorized to generate ashipping label 100 and ship a package from any location. For example, acorporate organization may employ a number of salespeople whose jobentails traveling to meet clients. These employees may need access tothe distributed user shipping system 10 and may need to ship packageswhile on the road.

With reference to FIG. 1, a traveling user 30 is illustrated incommunication with the network 30 rather than directly connected to theclient server 20. In this embodiment, because the user is designated asa traveling user 30 he or she can use the distributed user shippingsystem 10 to ship a good from a remote location. In one embodiment, thedistributed user shipping application 40 resides on a mobile computerused by the traveling user 30. In another embodiment, the traveling user30 accesses the distributed user shipping application 40 on the clientserver 20 from a remote location.

In operation, if a user is designated as a traveling user 30 the userhas the option of changing the ship from information on the system. Inone embodiment, the new ship from information will be reflected on thereturn address on the shipping label 100. In another embodiment,however, the return address on the shipping label 100 is not changed andremains the default return address as would appear for any user. From acarrier perspective, when a traveling user 30 ships a package the costof the shipment is based upon the modified ship from information andtherefore is not necessarily calculated based on the return address onthe shipping label 100.

Each of the various embodiments of the present invention have severaladvantages. Generally, the distributed user shipping system 10 allowstight control of shipping activities to be administered, especially overthe ship from location and the level of service selected by the users15. Limiting the ship from locations reduces the incidence of misuse ofan organization's shipping accounts. Further, use of more expensivecarrier service levels, such as overnight shipping, can be reduced oreliminated. Costs that are incurred can be billed directly to clients ordepartments based on account numbers, such as the cost center code 135,or department names 140. The shipping label engine 50 allows for theconvenient generation of shipping labels bearing the ship to and shipfrom information for immediate attachment to a package. Administrativeaspects of the system 10 allow for the creation and modification ofvarious user groups and organization locations each having differentservice levels and ship from locations available for shipping requests.

FIGS. 1, 2, 3A-3G and 4A-4C are block diagrams, flowcharts and controlflow illustrations of methods, systems and program products according tothe invention. It will be understood that each block or step of theblock diagram, flowchart and control flow illustration, and combinationsof blocks in the block diagram, flowchart and control flow illustration,can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions may be loaded onto a computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which executeon the computer or other programmable apparatus create means forimplementing the functions specified in the block diagram, flowchart orcontrol flow block(s) or step(s). These computer program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct acomputer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the block diagram, flowchartor control flow block(s) or step(s). The computer program instructionsmay also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus tocause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer orother programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented processsuch that the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the block diagram, flowchart or control flow block(s) orstep(s).

Accordingly, blocks or steps of the block diagram, flowchart or controlflow illustration support combinations of means for performing thespecified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunctions and program instruction means for performing the specifiedfunctions. It will also be understood that each block or step of theblock diagram, flowchart or control flow illustration, and combinationsof blocks or steps in the block diagram, flowchart or control flowillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedcomputer systems which perform the specified functions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed:
 1. A method for controlling a user's access to acarrier's shipping services for delivery of a package, said carrierhaving a service area with a plurality of access locations at which thecarrier is willing to receive the package to initiate shipping, saidmethod comprising: identifying the user; identifying a user group of anorganization, wherein the user is a member of the user group and theorganization; identifying a limited collection of access locationswithin the organization, wherein the limited collection of accesslocations are accessible by the carrier to deliver or receive one ormore packages and the limited collection of access locations comprisesfewer locations than the plurality of access locations accessible by thecarrier within the service area; causing display of at least a subset ofthe limited collection of access locations; recording ship toinformation submitted by the user, said ship to information describing adestination location to which the package is to be delivered by thecarrier; recording ship from information describing one of the limitedcollection of access locations selected by the user; validating that theaccess location selected by the user is one of the limited collection ofaccess locations, wherein identifying the limited collection of accesslocations comprises evaluating one or more rights assigned to the user,the rights being associated with data indicating whether the user ispermitted to utilize the limited collection of access locations todeliver or receive the packages; providing a plurality of differentshipping service levels provided by the carrier, each of the servicelevels comprising data indicating a different mode of shipping thepackage; and identifying, via a computing device, a limited collectionof shipping service levels, the limited collection of shipping servicelevels being a subset of the shipping service levels provided by thecarrier, and wherein identifying the limited collection of shippingservice levels comprises evaluating the data associated with at leastone of the rights assigned to the user, the at least one rightcomprising information indicating whether the user is permitted toutilize one or more of the subset of the shipping service levels tofacilitate delivery of the package.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: transmitting the ship from and ship to information to thecarrier over a network after successfully validating the access locationso as to facilitate delivery of the package from the selected accesslocation to the destination location by the carrier.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein each of the limited collection of access locations isassociated with a work group of the user.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein causing display of at least a portion of the limited collectionof access locations includes pre-populating a plurality of ship frominformation fields with portions of a single access location, saidinformation fields used for recording ship from information.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising: locking the ship from informationfields against modification of the portions of the single accesslocation after pre-populating the ship from information fields.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the single access location is associated witha work group of the user.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating a shipping label image based on the ship to and ship frominformation, said shipping label image usable by the user to print ashipping label for attachment to the package.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: causing display of the limited collection ofshipping service levels available to the user; and recording a shippingservice level selection by the user and transmitting the shippingservice level selection, the ship from information and the ship toinformation over a network to the carrier after successfully validatingthe access location and the selected shipping service level so as tofacilitate delivery of the package.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe shipping service levels provided by the carrier are at least groundand air shipping and wherein the displayed collection of shippingservice levels is limited to ground shipping.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising: validating the user's ability to request theshipping service level by confirming that the user belongs to the group.11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying a limitedcollection of destination locations associated with the user group,wherein the limited collection of destination locations comprises fewerlocations than a plurality of destination locations accessible by thecarrier within the service area.
 12. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: recording billing information from the user and causingtransmission of the ship to information, ship from information and thebilling information over a network to the carrier after successfullyvalidating the selected access location so as to facilitate billing bythe carrier for delivery of the package.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the billing information comprises client and matter information.14. The method of claim 1, wherein the access location selected by theuser comprises a work location of the user.
 15. The method of claim 1,wherein the access location selected by the user is associated with adepartment of the organization and the user is a member of thedepartment.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: evaluatingthe data associated with the rights; and identifying one or more of thelimited collection of access locations that the user is permitted toselect to deliver or receive the packages via the one or more accesslocations.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein validating comprisesverifying the user's ability to select the access location by confirmingthat the user belongs to the user group.
 18. The method of claim 1,wherein the limited location of access locations are accessible by thecarrier to receive one or more packages.
 19. The method of claim 1,wherein the limited location of access locations are accessible by thecarrier to receive one or more packages.
 20. The method of claim 1,further comprising: facilitating display of at least a portion of thelimited collection of shipping service levels; and facilitating receiptof a selection of at least one of the limited collection of shippingservice levels; and wherein the selected service level identifies amanner in which to transport the package to a delivery location within apredetermined time period.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein thedisplay is free from showing service levels, that the user isunauthorized to utilize for shipping the package, the method furthercomprising: determining unauthorized service levels based on analyzingthe information of the at least one right.
 22. The method of claim 20,further comprising: validating that the selected shipping service levelis one of the limited collection of shipping service levels; andverifying that the user is authorized to utilize the selected shippingservice level to ship at least one of the packages based on evaluatingthe data associated with the at least one right of the user.
 23. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining that the user is onlyable to utilize at least one of the limited collection of shippingservice levels to facilitate delivery of the package to a destinationbased at least in part on the information of the at least one right. 24.A system for controlling a user's access to a carrier's shippingservices for delivery of a package, said carrier having a service areadescribing a plurality of access locations at which the carrier iswilling to access the package to initiate shipping, the systemcomprises: at least one apparatus comprising at least one memory, thememory storing an application executable by the apparatus, wherein theapplication is configured upon execution, to: identify the user;identify a user group of an organization, wherein the user is a memberof the user group and the organization; identify a limited collection ofaccess locations within the organization, wherein the limited collectionof access locations are accessible by the carrier to deliver or receiveone or more packages and the limited collection of access locationscomprises fewer locations than the plurality of access locationsaccessible by the carrier within the service area; cause display of atleast a subset of the limited collection of access locations; recordship to information submitted by the user, said ship to informationdescribing a destination location to which the package is to bedelivered by the carrier; record ship from information describing one ofthe limited collection of access locations selected by the user;validate that the access location selected by the user is one of thelimited collection of access locations; identify the limited collectionof access locations comprises evaluating one or more rights assigned tothe user, the rights being associated with data indicating whether theuser is permitted to utilize the limited collection of access locationsto deliver or receive the packages; provide a plurality of differentshipping service levels provided by the carrier, each of the servicelevels comprising data indicating a different mode of shipping thepackage; identify a limited collection of shipping service levels, thelimited collection of shipping service levels being a subset of theshipping service levels provided by the carrier, and identify thelimited collection of shipping service levels comprises evaluating thedata associated with at least one of the rights assigned to the user,the at least one right comprising information indicating whether theuser is permitted to utilize one or more of the subset of the shippingservice levels to facilitate delivery of the package.
 25. The system ofclaim 24, wherein the application is further configured upon execution,to: cause transmission of the ship from and ship to information to thecarrier over a network after successfully validating the access locationso as to facilitate delivery of the package from the selected accesslocation to the destination location by the carrier.
 26. The system ofclaim 24, wherein each of the limited collection of access locations isassociated with a work group of the user.
 27. The system of claim 24,wherein cause display of at least a portion of the limited collection ofaccess locations includes pre-populating a plurality of ship frominformation fields with portions of a single access location, saidinformation fields used for recording ship from information.
 28. Thesystem of claim 27, wherein the application is further configured uponexecution, to: facilitate locking of the ship from information fieldsagainst modification of the portions of the single access location afterpre-populating the ship from information fields.
 29. The system of claim28, wherein the single access location is associated with a work groupof the user.
 30. The system of claim 29, wherein the application isfurther configured upon execution, to: generate a shipping label imagebased on the ship to and ship from information, said shipping labelimage usable by the user to print a shipping label for attachment to thepackage.
 31. The system of claim 24, wherein the application is furtherconfigured upon execution, to: cause display of the limited collectionof shipping service levels available to the use; and record a shippingservice level selection by the user and transmitting the shippingservice level selection, the ship from information and the ship toinformation over a network to the carrier after successfully validatingthe access location and the selected shipping service level so as tofacilitate delivery of the package.
 32. The system of claim 31, whereinthe shipping service levels provided by the carrier are at least groundand air shipping and wherein the displayed collection of shippingservice levels is limited to ground shipping.
 33. The system of claim31, wherein the application is further configured to upon execution, to:validate the user's ability to request the shipping service level byconfirming that the user belongs to the group.
 34. The system of claim24, wherein application is further configured upon execution, to:identify a limited collection of destination locations associated withthe user group, wherein the limited collection of destination locationscomprises fewer locations than a plurality of destination locationsaccessible by the carrier within the service area.
 35. The system ofclaim 24, wherein the application is further configured upon execution,to: record billing information from the user and causing transmission ofthe ship to information, ship from information and the billinginformation over a network to the carrier after successfully validatingthe selected access location so as to facilitate billing by the carrierfor delivery of the package.
 36. The system of claim 35, wherein thebilling information comprises client and matter information.
 37. Thesystem of claim 24, wherein the access location selected by the usercomprises a work location of the user.
 38. The system of claim 24,wherein the access location selected by the user is associated with adepartment of the organization and the user is a member of thedepartment.
 39. The system of claim 24, wherein the application isfurther configured upon execution, to: evaluate the data associated withthe rights; and identify one or more of the limited collection of accesslocations that the user is permitted to select to deliver or receive thepackages via the one or more access locations.
 40. The system of claim24, wherein validate comprises verifying the user's ability to selectthe access location by confirming that the user belongs to the usergroup.
 41. The system of claim 24, wherein the limited location ofaccess locations are accessible by the carrier to deliver one or morepackages.
 42. The system of claim 24, wherein limited collection ofaccess locations are accessible by the carrier to deliver one or morepackages.
 43. The system of claim 24, wherein the application is furtherconfigured upon execution, to: facilitate display of at least a portionof the limited collection of shipping service levels; and facilitatereceipt of a selection of at least one of the limited collection ofshipping service levels, wherein the selected service level identifies amanner in which to transport the package to a delivery location within apredetermined time period.
 44. The system of claim 43, wherein thedisplay is free from showing service levels, that the user isunauthorized to utilize for shipping the package, the application isfurther configured upon execution, to determine unauthorized servicelevels based on analyzing the information of the at least one right. 45.The system of claim 43, wherein the application is further configuredupon execution, to: validate that the selected shipping service level isone of the limited collection of shipping service levels; and verifythat the user is authorized to utilize the selected shipping servicelevel to ship at least one of the packages based on evaluating the dataassociated with the at least one right of the user.
 46. The system ofclaim 24, wherein the application is further configured upon execution,to: determine that the user is only able to utilize at least one of thelimited collection of shipping service levels to facilitate delivery ofthe package to a destination based at least in part on the informationof the at least one right.